As a diversion from all the showy, gold-encrusted glitz of Abu Dhabi, Sally and I went kayaking. We rented a double kayak on the waterside walkway at the Eastern Mangroves Hotel and Spa. The name of the place alone suggests that kayaking in Abu Dhabi won’t involve roughing it. After strolling by the ATM, an inviting al fresco cafe and a luxury yacht dealership, we arrived at the kayak rental dock. The rental guy dragged the plastic boat down to the edge of the downward-tilting ramp, handed paddles to us and told us to get seated. He pushed us down into the water and pointed out the suggested course. We were lowered to eye level at the tangled thickets of mangroves. A soft breeze and the temperature drop felt great. The first thing we passed in our nature experience was a distant panorama of Abu Dhabi’s skyscrapers lining the Arabian gulf coastline. The buildings are very tall and very glassy.
We then turned a corner to follow the open channel within the mangroves. A piece of dredging equipment was parked on the side and we saw about 20 workmen nearby, all wearing green neon life jackets. After about 15 minutes, we had enough of nature experience Abu Dhabi-style. We retraced our path and returned to the dock. Next up: visiting the oldest building in Abu Dhabi.
